pontalba

I'm almost finished another book by Koch, Summer House With Swimming Pool. Very twisty. Good.

Yays! A couple of my favorites are The Book of Illusions, Moon Palace and In The Country of Last Things. Just sayin'.......LOL

Interesting article from SA. Thanks for posting LP. I hope the "cone of shame" (poor baby!) came off today. Also look forward to some review of the books above. Great list!

So glad you are enjoying the Auster! It was strange, but I loved it. Now, that's a reason not to be reading! A deliciously lovely reason! :D

Glad you are safely home, Julie! I'm glad that if you were going to have any problem with your heart that at least you were already in the hospital and not having to get there. Sending more healing vibes your way. Take it easy, kiddo!

God, I love New York! You'll have a great time! Go to Strand Books, by all means. Edit: And, be sure to stand in Times Square around midnight. Electric!

I was thinking exactly the same thing, Alexi. Marmite! LOL One day I really have to buy a jar of that stuff and try it.

Oh, You!!

We do have a lot of fun. It's funny. We were discussing some of the bizarre happenings in the book The Dinner in a restaurant the other day and all of a sudden I wondered if the people in the adjacent booth could hear us and thought we were discussing real people! /giggle/ Gave me quite a turn for a moment! Every couple has different patterns, love is what counts. And, I think we all have that. I saw this article on NPR this morning...it's one of the most emailed stories. I absolutely love the idea! http://www.npr.org/2014/07/19/332312641/a-shot-and-a-book-how-to-read-in-bars?utm_source=npr_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20140727&utm_campaign=mostemailed&utm_term=nprnews We used to go in Starbucks and occupy a couple of easy chairs sometimes to sit and read, and I enjoyed that.

Hey Julie, tomorrow's the big day, and I'm really happy you are able to get this over with.....I know how hard you've struggled. You're a strong woman, and you have a great husband to back you up. We're all sending good, strengthening and happy healing vibes your way. That's great that you can bring the laptop to the hospital! Look forward to hearing from you on the other side. Hugs, and all that Jazz.

Good reviews, Claire. I really like the sound of Q: A Love Story. Re Don't Point That Thing At Me, I agree, sometimes "humor" that is dated just isn't funny anymore. Thanks for the heads up.

It is disappointing, I'd really like to date some of mine. They were my great-grandfather's, and the only way I can "ballpark" the date is by his inscription in the front. And he didn't do that 100%.

Not silly!! I think your reasoning was valid. Mostly I just didn't want Wolf Hall to seem "difficult".

Thanks, Gaia. It's funny, I wasn't even going to read it. My husband had read it a while back and didn't care for it, so it want way down in the pile for me. Our tastes are very similar. But he saw a thread on The Dinner on GoodReads and was intrigued by the variety of posts and was moved to reread it. Hah, I don't know if it was his mood when he read it the first time or what, but he liked it better enough for me to immediately read it, to compare thoughts on it. I'm really glad we did read it together, as we could bounce ideas between us.

Good review, Gaia. I will definitely put the Gaiman near the top of the TBR! Thanks.

While Wolf Hall is a long book, it's an easy read. It went fairly quickly for me. I don't say this to move any votes, just for future reference for readers.

I've noticed that some of the older books (100 y.o. and more) I have don't have publication dates. So, maybe for some reason unbeknownst to civilians book sellers just know when a certain look was published, but not exactly. Hence the "circa".

Good one. Love the "I'll be right back." !

I've started World of Trouble: The Last Policeman Book III by Ben H. Winters. Meteor will hit in 5, count 'em, 5 days!

Finished The Dinner by Herman Koch, review over yonder. Not sure what is next.........

The Dinner by Herman Koch 4/5 "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." No, this isn't a review error, I'm not reviewing Anna Karenina. The Dinner by Herman Koch is the story of an ostensibly happy family. Until their fabric threatens to be torn apart by an act of violence. The dinner of the title is being held by the pair of parents (the fathers are brothers) whose 15 year old sons participated in, and/or instigated the act of violence. One of the fathers is a politician with a very high profile, in fact he is running for Prime Minister of Holland at the time of the dinner. The story is told within the parameters of the dinner, aperitif, appetizer, main course, dessert, and digestif. The back story is told in the same manner, with of course, the meat of the tale told in "main course". Long simmering resentments rise and fall during the actual dinner giving a framework to the tale of violence. I say violence in general because the boy's act does not stand alone unto itself. There is a familial pattern that is taking place that becomes more and more clear as the reader progresses. How far would any parent go to protect their child? I believe this book is one very interesting and disturbing answer to that question. Recommended.

:D Glad you had such a great time, frankie!! Sounds absolutely super!

So far, I think my best books this year are as follows: Flags in the Dust by William Faulkner The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner The Unvanquished by William Faulkner Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner The Martian by Andy Weir Naoko by Keigo Higashino The First Man in Rome by Colleen McCullough All 5 star, it'd be difficult to choose just one, although I could narrow it down to the Faulkners, if I had to.

Good to know, thanks Gaia. I'll definitely get back to it!

I'm looking at the site now, thanks so much for the link! Looks good!